This application relates to medication dispenser, specifically an improved abuse resistant medication dispenser.
prescription medication overdose, misuse and abuse are one of the leading causes of death in USA with almost 168,000 Americans having died from medication overdose in the last 10 years. More Americans and dying from drug overdose than from car accidents. Opioid use disorders resulted in 51,000 worldwide deaths in 2013 up from 18,000 deaths in 1990. Prescription opioid overdose was responsible for more deaths in the United States from 1999-2008 than heroin and cocaine overdose combined.
Patient's a generally prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines in 1 month supply. Patients suffering from opioid abuse and benzodiazepine addiction frequently abuse and misuse of medications by various routes including ingesting medications in doses significantly more than prescribed, crushing pills and chewing them, snorting them, injecting them as well as rectal administration in order to achieve a rapid release of the medication to achieve a drug high. This frequently leads to overdose and respiratory depression and death. Once the medications are dispensed from the pharmacy there are no checks or balances that would prevent this kind of abuse. Pharmaceutical companies have tried to mitigate some of the abuse by making medications abuse resistant that are difficult to snort or inject however many of these abuse deterrent mechanisms can be easily bypassed or the patient can simply ingest several days worth of medications at one time in order to achieve a drug high and risking death from overdose. For example a patient was prescribed oxycodone 5 mg 4 times a day will have 120 pills dispensed for one-month supply. Once dispensed from the pharmacy the patient can take some or all 120 pills at one time or sell some or all of his medications.